As Owen sped along the highway, he felt a sense of urgency he had never felt before in his life. He was doing 95 in a 70 zone but he didn't care. He needed to get there on time. He was a man with a sole purpose.
Meanwhile, at the women's clinic, Cristina had been placed in a bright, cheerful office. No one was in there, as yet. She could see the counselor's pictures of her family on her desk. Sandy, the counselor, had three children – two boys and a girl.
Cristina sat there, her legs shaking. She needed to burn off all of this nervous energy that she was feeling. She heard the door open and a smiling brunette stepped inside. She looked at her file, before she spoke.
"Good morning, Miss Yang. Can I call you Cristina?" the woman asked, offering her hand for Cristina to shake. "I am Sandy Thornton."
"Yes, that's fine," Cristina said, shaking the woman's soft hand.
"You can call me Sandy. Well, Cristina, this is a mandatory counseling session that our clients must go through, before any procedures are done. We want to make sure that you are making the right choice for you and that you are in the proper frame of mind for the procedure. Once it is done, it is irrevocable," Sandy said, taking her seat behind her desk.
"Yes, I understand. You have some lovely children. I was looking at the pictures before you came in," Cristina said.
"Yes, they are but they can be a handful, especially my sons. They try to test how far they can go with me before I get mad. But I love them, anyway," Sandy said. "So, Cristina, let's just start by asking you why is it that you want to get the procedure done?"
"I just don't think it is the right time in my life to have this baby. I just moved to Iowa and I just started a new job. I am still settling in," Cristina responded, wringing her hands as she spoke.
"Okay, what about your relationship with the father of this baby?" Sandy asked. "Are you still in a relationship with this man and is he in agreement with the termination?"
"That's also part of the reason why I want to terminate. I only met this man about seven weeks ago and it is too early in the relationship to be bringing a baby into it. I am not even sure about how he feels about me. We say we love each other but I don't know if he is just saying it because we are in a relationship. I mean, we've known each other for seven weeks. Can you fall in love with someone that fast?" Cristina said.
Sandy stared at her file. "You say you've known this man for about seven weeks and according to your form, you are about six/seven weeks pregnant. So you got pregnant right away?" she asked.
"Well, that happened because I was on the pill and then I fell and got a really nasty cut. The doctor gave me antibiotics, which somehow, affected the efficacy of the pill. So it was a total accident," Cristina said. "Believe me; I was in total shock when Dr. Webber told me the pregnancy news, since I have been very good in taking my contraceptive."
"So what are your boyfriend's thoughts on the termination of the pregnancy?" Sandy asked.
Cristina fell silent. Sandy picked up on her discomfort with the question, right away.
"The father – he doesn't know about it, does he?" Sandy asked.
"Um, no, I didn't tell him," Cristina admitted, staring at the floor. She felt a little ashamed about not telling Owen but she felt she was justified. She looked up. "I didn't think at this stage of our relationship, we should even be discussing having a baby. Seven weeks is just too soon. I didn't want to drop this on him. We haven't even talked about a future together. By me having this baby would mean that he would be forever tied to me. I am not even sure that he would want that. Right now, we're just having a good time."
"So, you plan to keep this a secret from him, even after the termination," Sandy said.
"Are you judging me?" Cristina asked. She was already feeling terrible about the secret and here was a stranger, who was probably making judgements about her and her choices.
"No, of course not. We are not here to judge your decisions. We are just here to help you," Sandy said, trying to assure her.
"I am already feeling bad about this," Cristina said.
"About the abortion or the secret?" Sandy asked.
"The secret, the abortion….I don't know. I want to continue a relationship with this man but I don't know if this secret will affect our relationship in the future," Cristina said. She started shaking her leg, again.
"Okay, but that is something you may have to consider, if you go through with this procedure. Okay, let's talk about some of the feelings you may have afterwards. Some women can come through this without any problems. They are at peace with their decision and can live the rest of their lives with no regrets. That is natural. Other women may have a different experience – they may have feelings of grief, guilt, sadness, crying and loss. That is also quite natural, too," Sandy said.
"I just want you to be prepared about the emotions you may feel, afterwards. It is quite normal. However, if these feelings start to affect you very badly and interfere with the functioning of your daily life, it may be time to seek some counseling," Sandy warned.
"Okay," Cristina said.
"So let's just go over everything," Sandy said. "You already read the brochure that the receptionist gave you." Cristina nodded. Sandy continued, "So you understand the physical aspect of it all."
"You have stated your reasons why you want this abortion," Sandy added. "And you have understood the emotional aspects that may affect you after the procedure."
Cristina nodded, again.
"Good. Then I am just going to ask you, one more time," Sandy said. "Are you ready for this?"
"Yes..no..yes..no," Cristina said. "Yes," she said, in a shaky voice.
Sandy looked at her, sympathetically. "It is a very hard decision, Cristina. I know this. You have to be ready. This is a huge step. Once you do it, it cannot be changed. Do you need some time again?"
"Yes, please," Cristina said.
"Well, okay then. You can have half an hour in the waiting room and then you can tell the receptionist, whether you are going through the procedure or not," Sandy said.
"Thank you," Cristina said, gratefully.
"That's okay. We want you to make the right decision for yourself," Sandy said, as she got up and opened the door for Cristina. Cristina walked back to the waiting room and sat down, next to Meredith.
"Well?" Meredith asked.
Meanwhile, Owen was still speeding along the highway, when he heard the sirens behind him. He had hoped that he would have avoided the cops but apparently, it was not to be. He sighed as he pulled over to the side.
The cop stopped his car behind Owen and came out of his vehicle. "License and registration, please, sir," the policeman said. Owen dug into his glove compartment and pulled out the necessary documents.
"So you know you're doing 95 in a 70 zone?" the policeman said.
"Yes, I am aware of that, Officer," Owen said.
"Nice, this one will be easy. Usually, I have some speeding fool, trying to tell me that he wasn't speeding. Makes writing this ticket much easier," the officer said.
"Please, just write up the ticket as fast as you can. I am wasting time, here," Owen yelled in a frustrated tone. "I will pay the fine. Just write the damn ticket!"
"Excuse me?" the officer said. "I am wasting your time?"
"Listen, I really didn't want to tell you this but it is a life or death situation. My girlfriend, as we speak, is at the Millbrook Women's Clinic and is planning to terminate her pregnancy. I have to get there to stop her. I have tried calling her but apparently, her phone is off. I need to get there, urgently. And the longer you take to write up that ticket means the less time I have to get there in time," Owen said.
"Why didn't you say this, earlier?" the officer said. "I have two kids myself and I can't imagine life without them. Come on, follow me, I will give you an escort. If you continue the way you're driving all the way to Millbrook, then another cop along the way is going to stop you."
"Thank you, thank you," Owen said. "What about the ticket?"
"Forget that, man," the officer said. "Just follow me." He handed Owen back his license and registration.
The officer ran back to his patrol vehicle and drove off in front of Owen. Owen dutifully followed him in his truck. The two vehicles sped off to Millbrook.
Cristina and Meredith sat quietly in the waiting room. Cristina had not spoken since she had left the counselor's office.
"Cristina, you have to say something," Meredith said. "Are you going through with this or not?"
Cristina looked at her friend. "I am not sure."
"Cristina!" Meredith said. "You have to be sure. This is something that you cannot get back if you do this."
"I know. Don't you think I know that?" Cristina said. "I keep thinking about Owen."
Meredith sighed. "Do you want to get out of here? Just go back to Huntsville and figure out what you're going to do. I mean, you still have some time. We can always come back another day."
Cristina sat there, as if glued to her seat. They sat there for another five mintues, until Cristina finally got up and went to the receptionist's desk.
"I have decided not to do this, today," she told the receptionist. The receptionist nodded. She knew that some people, who were unsure, did change their minds.
"If you do decide that you want to go through with this," the receptionist said, handing her a card. "Just call and we will fit you in. Anyway, good luck, Miss Yang."
"Thank you," Cristina said. Meredith stood up and they both began walking out of the building. Meredith put her arm around her best friend, as Cristina rested her head against Meredith's shoulder.
Owen had finally made it to Millbrook. The police escort had cleared the traffic in front of him and he was there in record time. He waved to the officer, as he turned into the Millbrook Women's Health Clinic parking lot. He saw Jackson Avery's car there. That was a good sign, he thought. That meant they were still there and maybe, he still had time to stop her.
He got out of the truck and ran to the entrance, only to see Meredith and Cristina, walking out of the clinic. Meredith had her arm around Cristina, who had a very forlorn look. He could not believe it; he had not got there in time. His baby was gone.
He had a look of disgust on his face. He couldn't help it; he was in pain.
"How could you do this? Without even telling me," he spat out the words. He turned and walked, swiftly back to his truck. He started his truck and sped out of the parking lot, as he headed back to Huntsville.
He hadn't heard when Cristina said, "But wait…."
He could not understand how she could do such a thing. He was so angry with her. His vision became blurred. He didn't understand why, then he realized he was crying. The tears were streaming down his face. He pulled over the side of the road and wept like he had never cried before in his life.
A/N: Please leave your comments. Thank you for your reviews. I do appreciate reading what you think.